1. Thang Co
 Thang co with corn wine when visiting a highlands market. But not everyone is excited about the experience, as thang co, with innards, bones, fat, and meat from a cow, buffalo or horse as its main ingredients, is not for the faint-hearted.

 2. Nam pia
 Nam pia — a specialty of the ethnic Thai in the northern highlands – has an even more challenging taste and odor than thang co. The addition of a paste taken from bovine large intestines makes nam pia, which is often served as a sauce, bitter. 

3. Nuoc mam
 Nuoc mam, or better known as fish sauce among English speakers, is an indispensable part of Vietnamese cuisine. When served as a dipping sauce, nuoc mam is indeed smelly. However, few foreigners mind when it is added during the cooking process. Thanks to the increased popularity of Vietnamese foods, nuoc mam has won quite many foreign fans over the years. 

4. Mam tom 

 Sometimes compared to Australia vegemite, mam tom, or fermented shrimp paste, is a popular dipping sauce served along with rice vermicelli dishes such as the crab and tomato noodle soup,bun rieu cua. Though the sauce is optional, many Vietnamese prefer to add it to their soups. 

 5. Mam ca 
 Mam ca, is more popular in the Mekong Delta than elsewhere in Vietnam. Locals have invented a variety of fermented fish made from various species including climbing perch and ca linh, a small fish belonging to the same family as the carp. Because of its pungent smell, kiosks selling the fermented fish can be easily located even in large crowded markets. Unlike fish sauce, the smell refuses to go away even when cooked with foods like hotpots. 

 6. Mam nem 
 Mam nem has gained a similar reputation for its pungent smell. It is often mixed with sugar, pineapple and spices to be served as a dipping sauce.

 7. Sau rieng 
The last thing on this stinky list is not a food but a fruit — sau rieng, the infamous durian. While its fan population is quite big in Vietnam, it has lots of haters too, including foreigners, who cannot stand its smell. Since its smell is quite persistent, one needs to think carefully before storing durian in a fridge.

 Source: Talk vietnam

Nestled in a beautiful valley about three kilometers from Sapa Town, Cat Cat- the old village of ethnic groups- attracts tourists from all over the world for its distinctive customs and practices which have been lost in almost ethnic villages. 
The village is within easy walking distance from any hotel in downtown Sapa. 

Overview 
Cat Cat cultural village was formed in 19th century by the gathering of some families belonging to some ethnic groups living in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, especially Black H’Mong .
They lived next to each other along the mountain side and cultivated surrounding their home. Rice and corn were grown in terraced fields, while traditional handicrafts such as twisting flax and weaving fabric have been well-kept. Through times, Cat Cat Village has transferred to one appealing feature of Sapa’s tourism. 
What to see? Visiting Cat Cat, tourists will be impressed by the peacefully picturesque sceneries. People can easily catch sight of women sitting in front of the loom with colorful pieces of brocade, while children playing around with pets or even livestock. From the plain brocade, then women can carefully dye them with special leaves and embroider beautiful patterns of flower and animal on them. 

Moreover, many residents of Cat Cat Village are also skillful at manipulating sophisticated gold and silver jewelry. The original architect of H’Mong people is interesting as well. Their house typically contains three rooms with three doors and po mu wood roof, while the walls’ material is sawn timber. There are other indispensable parts of the house such as altar, kitchen, places for keeping food and sleeping, etc. 
What to do?
Cat Cat Village gives tourists a chance to have a glimpse into the daily life of local ethnic people, as well as take part in traditional activities such as weaving fabric. It is also a good opportunity to purchase some traditional souvenirs and handicrafts right from the craftsmen. People can also try some local food selling the way upcoming to the hill. In addition, the road leading to Cat Cat Village is an easy and interesting route for trekking.
 The spot is only within 20-30m minutes walking from Sapa center; and the hike through mountains will offer tourists the wonderful picture of rice paddies, water fall, or even water buffaloes grazing leisurely.

Cat Ba, Do Son, and Trang Kenh are attractive tourist destinations on the weekend in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

Do Son: As one of the well-known beaches in the north of Vietnam, Do Son is a small peninsula formed by the stretch of Rong Mountain to the sea. Ranges of mountains and hills with forests of pine trees cover this lovely beach. In addition to that natural beauty, the human-made infrastructure here is admirable with restaurants, hotels, houses, roads and water supply as well as a perfect electricity supply system. 

The zigzag roads along the mountains and pine forests make the beach a rare beauty in the tropical region. It is considered “a tourist resort”, only 20 kilometers away from Hai Phong City and 123 kilometers from Hanoi. The sea resort town is composed of three zones, each having bathing beaches, and hills and forests. Around the hills are French-style constructions looking towards the sea. 
Since 1975, many large hotels and guesthouses have been set up over the town and Do Son has become a weekend sea resort for Vietnamese and foreigners. Immediately upon setting foot in Hai Phong, the French turned Do Son into a summer resort for their expatriate community and the Vietnamese upper class. On summer days, Do Son is alive with tourists from all over the world. They mainly come here to spend time on the beach, relax, and hike. From Do Son, tourists can conveniently sail to Cat Ba Island, to Ha Long Bay, to Dien Bien, Long Chau, and Hon Dat Island. If you visit Hai Phong, Do Son is a must-see place that should not be missed.

 Trang Kenh: A beautiful mountain landscape, Trang Kenh is also noted for its historical and archeological importance. The attraction belongs to Thuy Nguyen district, about 20 km from Hai Phong downtown and accessible by a rented motorbike or taxi ride. Among the famous mountain peaks in Trang Kenh complex is U Bo. A myth has it that at this peak, Tran Hung Dao – one of the most famous military legends in Vietnam – commanded the naval battle against the Chinese aggressors in the 13th century and successfully protecting the sovereignty of Vietnam. From U Bo Peak, visitors can capture the entire panorama of the Bach Dang River. The silence of the river, the immensity of the sea and the resonating mythical stories … all make this a fascinating place to visit. 

According to archaeologists, Trang Kenh was a jeweler’s workshop for as long as 4,000 years. As times progressed, the site was used for various purposes, including acting as a revolutionary base for Hai Phong civil and military forces during the struggle against the French colony. 
 Cat Ba - the pearl island is a well-known archipelago with a spectacular array of sea and island scenery. It covers an area of 20,000 ha in the Northeast of Hai Phong, making it the biggest island out of the 366 islands on the Lan Hạ Bay. It takes about one hour by high speed hydrofoil to go to the island, or by land about 60 kilometers passing two ferries. Right from the moment of setting foot on Cat Ba gangway, you will be carried away by the immense blue sky, sight of mountains and fresh salty air from the ocean. 

This natural dose of “massage” is likely to relieve all the dizziness from your long trip. If you are not on a package tour, make sure to call and reserve your hotel in advance, for the island accommodations are rather limited for visitors, especially during the summer. If you can, try to get one that faces the ocean and is near the mountain. Visiting the popular beaches of Cat Co and Cat Dua, tourists can enjoy the blue, warm water, so clear that you can see the golden sand beneath. If you prefer something more quiet and calm, you can hire a motorboat or kayak to sail to the small islets, where there Cat Trai Gai, Duong Gianh and Hien Hao beaches are located. The mountain adjacent to Cat Co Beach has a tunnel and several fascinating caves and grottoes, such as Hang Luon, Khe Sau, Trung Trang, Gia Luan and Kim Cuong. Unlike the well-lit caves of Ha Long Bay, visiting these caves and grottoes gives you a better feel of being an explorer or conqueror of natural wonder and mysteries.
 Coming out of the caves and grottoes in late afternoon, you will be thrilled by the sunset over Lan Ha Bay. Against the background of a golden horizon and the dark blue sea, the heaving islets become multiform, the white sea-gulls hover and sea-eagles make circles in the sky, an experience that you cannot afford to miss while on Cat Ba

Tourists call this site of rare beauty "Ha Long Bay without water", "Ha Long Bay rice fields", etc ...
 While the high rock formations of Halong Bay to stand - above the sea, those of Tam Coc dorminent a landscape of rice fields. 

 Tam Coc is located 7 km south - west of Ninh Binh commune in Ninh Hai district of Hoa Lu Tam Coc means "three caves" referred to as Ca, Hai, and Ba. 
The best way to visit is to walk in sampan for 3 hours on the Ngo Dong river.
Formerly, this area was covered by the sea has eroded over the centuries the limestone rock formations. This place is also called "Ha Long Bay land". The car park of Dong Gung, visitors should be approximately 50m walk to the dock Dinh Cac. 

The sampans will take them quietly to the cave Ca, the most beautiful and largest of Ninh Binh with its 127m length.

 Upon entry appear beautiful stalactites that stimulate the imagination of men. A course after this trip, visitors enter the Hai cave and then the Ba cave. These two caves are shorter and more bases that Ca cave. 
 On leaving the caves, visitors will feel calm and pure air of mountain ranges rising above the rice fields. 

 Source: Ninh Binh tourism

Sixty kilometres southwest of Hanoi the Red River Delta ends abruptly where steep-sided limestone hills rise from the paddy fields. The most easterly of these forested spurs shelters north Vietnam’s most famous pilgrimage site, the Perfume Pagoda, Chua Huong, hidden in the folds of Ha Tay Province’s Mountain of the Perfumed Traces, and said to be named after spring blossoms that scent the air. 
The Perfume Pagoda, one of more than thirty peppering these hills, occupies a spectacular grotto over 50m high. The start of the journey is an hour’s ride by row-boat up a silent, flooded valley among karst hills where fishermen and farmers work their inundated fields.

From where the boat drops you (memorize your boat’s number as there are hundreds of identical craft here), a stone-flagged path shaded by gnarled frangipani trees brings you to the seventeenth-century Chua Thien Chu. Note that respectful attire – meaning long trousers, skirts below the knee and no sleeveless tops – should be worn for this trip; nobody will berate you for not doing so, but you might be the subject of unflattering comments. A hat or umbrella is also a help, as the boats have no shelter.

 Chua Thien Tru
 A magnificent, triple-roofed bell pavilion stands in front of the Chua Thien Tru, (“Pagoda Leading to Heaven”). Quan Am, Goddess of Mercy, takes pride of place on the pagoda’s main altar; the original bronze effigy was stolen by Tay Son rebels in the 1770s and some say they melted it down for cannonballs. 

Path to the Perfume Pagoda 
To the right of the Chua Thien Tru as you face it, a path leads steeply uphill for two kilometres (about 1hr) to the Perfume Pagoda, also dedicated to Quan Am. It is a hot and not particularly interesting walk up the mountain or a quick but expensive ride on the cable car. 
Note that the hike is hard going and can be highly treacherous on the descent during wet weather; you’ll need good walking shoes and remember to drink plenty of water, especially in the hot summer months. It’s a good idea to bring your own, or be prepared to pay above the odds at drinks stalls along the route. During festival time, the path is lined all the way with stalls selling tacky souvenirs and refreshments, giving the place more of a commercial than spiritual atmosphere. 

 The Grotto 
The grotto reveals itself as a gaping cavern on the side of a deep depression filled with vines and trees reaching for light beneath the inscription “supreme cave under the southern sky”. A flight of 120 steps descends into the dragon’s-mouth-like entrance where gilded Buddhas emerge from dark recesses wreathed in clouds of incense that is lit as an offering by Vietnamese visitors. 
 Source: Rougguides 
To book trip to Huong pagoda, please contact us
More tours for your references:
Trang An-Bai Dinh
Mai Chau homestay

Van Long - Kenh Ga reservation area, which is located in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province and 90 kilometer far from the south of Hanoi, is the ideal destination for tourists at the short weekends… 
After tiring and stressful working days, tourists can relax by dipping in Kenh Ga hot mineral spring and feel relaxed and comfortable by mixing your soul with the natural beauty of peaceful landscapes. 
 When going to Van Long ecological tourism area, tourists can feel the tottering sensation in barge boats, see the charming mountains and rivers of the flooded forest ecosystem and gaze with the world of nature with hundreds of birds, storks, cranes…

Van Long is a legendary land and an amazingly beautiful landscape for tourism, while at the same time, the largest mangrove nature reserve in northern delta, Ninh Binh province. 
Van Long reserve is on area of 2,643 hectares in seven communes of Gia Vien district. In the Van Long forest, there are 457 species of plants, eight of which are listed in Vietnam’s Red Book. There are 39 species of animals, including nine precious species such as languor, Tibetan bear, chamois, Loris, and red-face monkey. There are nine reptiles listed in Vietnam’s Red Book such as grass-snake, varan, slow and harmless boas, and gecko. Continuing the trip, tourists can visit Kenh Ga - Dong Van Trinh hot mineral spring or go boating in Hoang Long river to taste open-water feeling, combined mountains and rivers and the peaceful landscape as well as ordinary and simple life of local people… 
Tourists will have relaxed feelings at Kenh Ga hot mineral spring – the ideal tourism destination at weekends. Sitting on boats to travel around Van Long ( Ninh Binh province), tourists can freely release your souls with nature, clouds and gaze the Pygathrix flickering on limestone mountains. It is the biggest flooded reservation area in the north of Vietnam that is also called as “Ha Long in land” 

Rightly starting the territory of Ninh Binh province, you will see the sign for Cuc Phuong national park and you will see Van Long ecological reservation area to the right about 8 kilometers from this sign. The original fact is the landscape which is reserved integrally and cleanly. 
The friendly boatman can be the guide to introduce you Nghien, Hom Sach, Da Ban, Meo Cao, Co Tien, Vo Dung, Canh Cong, Mo Coi Mountain... Each one is an attractive legend. The picturesque landscape reflects strong engraved things of Limestone Mountains the same right as their names. However, the water surface here hasn’t the blue color of the sea; it is so pure that people can clearly see the water-plants and mosses at the bottom. In the middle of fatherland area, there is the beautiful cave with strange stalagmites as Ca, Bong, Rua cave. 
You can explore each cave to taste new feelings between the spacious water areas. It is said that this village is called Kenh Ga because there is a stone like a rooster on the mountain and it is surrounded by rivers 2 three-way crossroads which are 300 meter away from each other. 

The outer area of Hoang Long River is the ecological area. 3 kilometer away from Van Long, Kenh Ga is famous for the source of hot mineral spring. Water pours from a limestone mountain without drilling into the underground with the temperature of 50 C degree. The special thing with the mineral water there is the high degree of salting. This mountain is surrounded by the canal connecting to Hoang Long River to form a separate oasis. Tourists can sit on boats and mix your souls with the simple and peaceful life of people in Fishing Village.
 
This is Vietnamese rural life at its best. The landscape is stunning with hundreds of limestone peaks jutting out of the emerald green paddies Vietnamese fishermen rowing boat with their legs , kids herding ducks & buffaloes and people living in the house boats are all daily scenes Kenh Ga mineral spring has been invested to serve tourists some services like hotels, restaurants and especially hot swimming pools, restaurants, aeration pools.

VietNamNet Bridge – Swimming at Bai Dai, taking a boat trip in Van Phong Bay, visiting Ponagar tower, enjoying a mud bath, and playing underwater sports are among the experiences that tourists should try when they come to Nha Trang. 
1. Bathing at Bai Dai Beach: Bai Dai is one of the wildest and the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam 

2. Touring Van Phong Bay: About 80 km from Nha Trang city, Van Phong Bay attracts tourists by its wildness. Floating on the blue sea, visiting islands, diving to see corals and enjoying fresh seafood are unforgettable experiences 

3.Visit Ponagar tower: This is the largest Cham architectural complex remaining in Central Vietnam, containing valuable historical and cultural values. Coming here, travelers should wear long trousers or borrow clothes from the tower management board. 

4.Mud bath: Mud in Nha Trang contains many minerals good for skin and health. Being immersed in hot mineral water and mud after a day of exploring Nha Trang will help dispel fatigue after a long day. Nha Trang has three famous sites for mud baths: Ponagar tower center, TramTrung tourist area and I-Resort 

5.Can cake: Can cakes are baked on the special ovens of Cham people, with various kinds of stuffing like beef, shrimp, squid … and coated with a layer of egg on top. Enjoy a plate of hot cakes with sweet and sour sauce, green onions, green mango and shumai. 

6. Driving motorcycle along Tran Phu Road: Driving along the beautiful coastal road of Nha Trang, tourists will see the sparkling blue sea under the sun, the brilliant paper flower trellises, well-decorated restaurants and cafes, Tram Huong (Agarwood) tower… 

7. Enjoy seafood: Nha Trang seafood is famous for freshness, diverse species and reasonable prices. Visitors enjoy all kinds of shrimp, oysters, snails … with a cool glass of beer at the shops along the embankments, Tran Phu Road, and the sea village. 

8.Visit Vinpearl Land: Visitors should not miss Vinpearl Land, with a cable car system crossing the sea and many exciting recreational sports

9. Explore the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute: The museum of marine life on the institute’s campus has over 20,000 specimens of more than 4,000 species. The museum has an enormous whale skeleton 26m long, 3m tall. 

10.Playing underwater games: Diving to see corals, driving jet ski, parasailing, fly-boarding are some of the recreational sports that tourists can enjoy in Nha Trang.